LETTER: `Lumps of wood' that give our cities a soul

Sir: Contrary to Jane Jakeman's assertion, it would seem obvious to most people that trees do matter - your journal is still printed on paper - and perhaps it needs to be said that there is a delicate job done by trees, which breathe in our poison ous carbon monoxide and breathe out oxygen.

The article closes with: "A tree is a lump of wood and nothing more." Oh, sure. And a credit card is a lump of plastic and nothing more.

Yours, MICHAEL SCIALOM Glastonbury, Somerset